The present invention generally relates to methods and machines for cutting solid and semisolid materials, including food products.
The AFFINITY® dicer is a machine manufactured by Urschel Laboratories, Inc., and is particularly well suited for dicing various materials, notable but nonlimiting examples of which include cheeses and meats. The AFFINITY® dicer is well known as capable of high capacity output and precision cuts. In addition, the AFFINITY® dicer has a sanitary design to deter bacterial growth.
A nonlimiting representation of an AFFINITY® dicer is shown in FIG. 1. Product is delivered to the dicer, for example, through a feed hopper (not shown), and enters a rotating impeller 10, where centrifugal forces hold the product against an inner wall of a stationary case 12 equipped with a slicing knife 14. The slicing knife 14 is disposed in an opening in the case 12 and typically oriented approximately parallel to the generally horizontal rotational axis of the impeller 10. Paddles of the impeller 10 carry the product to the slicing knife 14, producing slices that enter a dicing unit 35 (FIG. 3) of the machine. As used herein, the dicing unit 35 comprises a part of the machine downstream of the knife 14 and generally includes a feed drum 16, feed roll 18, circular cutter 20, and cross-cutter 22, each of which individually rotates about its respective axis of rotation. FIG. 2 represents an exploded view of the dicing unit 35 of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 represents a side view of the feed drum 16, feed roll 18, circular cutter 20, and cross-cutter 22, essentially in a direction parallel to their axes of rotation. Within the dicing unit 35, slices pass between the rotating feed drum 16 and feed roll 18, then enter the rotating circular cutter 20 whose axis of rotation is approximately parallel to the rotational axes of the impeller 10, rotating feed drum 16, and feed roll 18. The circular cutter 20 is equipped with disk-shaped knives (30 in FIGS. 2 and 3), each oriented approximately perpendicular to the rotational axis of the circular cutter 20 and, therefore, such that the knives 30 cut each slice into multiple parallel strips. The strips pass directly into the rotating cross-cutter 22 whose axis of rotation is also approximately parallel to the rotational axis of the circular cutter 20. The cross-cutter 22 is equipped with rectilinear knives (31 in FIG. 2), each oriented approximately parallel to the rotational axes of the cross-cutter 22, and therefore transverse and preferably perpendicular to the knives 30 of the circular cutter 20, to produce final cross-cuts that yield a diced product. The rotational speed of the cross-cutter 22 is preferably independently controllable relative to the feed drum 16, feed roll 18, and circular cutter 20 so that the size of the diced product can be selected and controlled. As evident from FIG. 1, the rotational axes of the impeller 10, feed drum 16, feed roll 18, circular cutter 20, and cross-cutter 22 are all approximately horizontal and parallel to each other.
As represented in FIG. 2, each of the feed drum 16, feed roll 18, circular cutter 20, and cross-cutter 22 is configured to be individually coaxially mounted on a separate shaft or spindle. In the nonlimiting representation of FIG. 2, the feed drum 16 and cross-cutter 22 are shown as being individually mounted on separate spindle shafts 38 and secured thereto with a retaining washer 40 and nut 42, and the feed roll 18 and circular cutter 20 are shown as being individually mounted on separate spindle shafts 44 and secured thereto with bolts 45. The feed drum 16, feed roll 18, circular cutter 20, and cross-cutter 22 are all shown as being cantilevered from a support structure 50 of the machine, for example, an enclosure, frame and/or other structures interconnected with the stationary case 12 and including drive systems operable to rotate the impeller 10, feed drum 16, feed roll 18, circular cutter 20, and cross-cutter 22 at the desired rotational speeds thereof.
FIGS. 2 and 3 further represent a shear or stripper plate 32 supported and secured with bolts 36 to a support bar 34, which is represented in FIG. 2 as being cantilevered from the support structure 50, similar to the feed drum 16, feed roll 18, circular cutter 20, and cross-cutter 22. FIGS. 4 and 5 represent isolated perspective and cross-sectional views, respectively, of the stripper plate 32. The stripper plate 32 has an upper shear edge 47 adapted to strip products (strips) from the circular cutter 20 prior to being diced with the cross-cutter 22. Slots 46 (FIGS. 2, 4 and 5) are defined in the stripper plate 32 facing the circular cutter 20, and the knives 30 of the circular cutter 20 are partially received in the slots 46, as represented in FIG. 3. As evident from FIGS. 3, 4, and 5, the slots 46 extend to the shear edge 47, such that individual edges of the shear edge 47 between adjacent slots 46 protrude between adjacent knives 30 of the circular cutter 20 to remove strips from therebetween. A lower shear edge 48 of the stripper plate 32 is in close proximity to the knives 31 of the cross-cutter 22 to ensure complete dicing of the strips delivered from the circular cutter 20 to the cross-cutter 22. The slots 46 also extend through the thickness of the plate 32 to the base of the plate 32, such that an opening 52 is defined at the lower extent of each slot 46, as depicted in FIGS. 4 and 5. The width of the slots 46 is sufficient to accommodate the axial thickness of the knife 30 received therein and provide a clearance therebetween. The slots 46 also define parallel walls 54 (of which one is visible in FIG. 5) that separate adjacent knives 30 from each other in the vicinity of the opening 52 at the base of the plate 32. Each wall 54 defines one of the individual edges of the shear edge 47.
While completely well suited for many food processing applications, including cheeses for which the AFFINITY® dicer is widely used, there is an ongoing desire for greater productivity in machines of this type.